Phoenix Rising…or rather RevisingWhen I first decided to go back in the history of Alburnium, I’d wanted to write fairytale retellings. They’re fun. I love reading this genre of books, and watching movies to see how they take the old classics and make something new…but familiar. I did this with the Lionheart Province trilogy, but I took a rather obscure fairytale that sounded horrid to me at first. Once I slept on it, I realized what an amazing story it was and how I could incorporate it into the world of Alburnium. So, we have Kardia and Leon’s story. You can read more about this series Here and Here . Once that was finished, I decided to pick a more famous fairytale and settled on Cinderella. It’s one of my favorites, anyway. Now, the Phoenix Province Series is loosely based on Cinderella. We have the evil step-mother with her daughters, we do have a ball, but no glass slippers. Instead, there’s a magical glass-handled dagger involved. Why? Because Rillion is no ordinary princess. She’s a warrior. Eh, what can I say? I love writing those Warrior characters. Where Am I With the Phoenix Series?I had a good start with Wings of Flame: Book One, then started to struggle on Book 2: Blade of Ember. Then I fell on my face with book three, which I’m still working on a title for. Yes, this is the book that feels like it’ll never be finished… except, it is finished. And edited. Except for the last 2 or 3 chapters. So, why haven’t I released it? Because, dear friends, it’s not ready yet. Because I was sliding into burnout, my writing was poor, scenes weren’t fleshed out properly, characters were skimmed over. After 35+ books, I should know better by now. And I do. I went back through books one and two and decided I could and should have done a lot better. Which is why all three books are undergoing revision. If you haven’t noticed, I took down the print versions. There were some really dumb mistakes in them. I’m making them better. The plot hasn’t changed and all the scenes are still intact. However, I’ve dived deeper into what’s motivating Avera to stick with her brother. The world of Alburnium is an amazing place so I’m making sure to paint better word pictures of the places Sterlyn visits in his journey to become a Prior. And the turmoil Rillion goes through at the hands of her cruel step-family needed to be explored more. These are things I’m working to improve. Now, perhaps you’ve already bought the first two books. Don’t worry, I didn’t change anything important. However, maybe you’re thinking that you’d like to see those revisions, and you will. I have a plan in mind. (I’ll explain that in a bit) ETA on Phoenix completion? Don’t quote me on this, but I’m hoping to have all three books completed, with new covers, bonus stories, and character art, by the end of the 2nd Quarter of this year. Hopefully, sooner. But I have a lot to do; such as come up with a new cover concept. I don’t like the current covers, especially book 1. Just being honest, here. New Side Story: Juni’s HeartBecause all editing and no writing makes Jackie a frustrated girl, I’ve started a small writing project, but kept it in the same story world that I’m editing. Soon to come to you is Juni’s Heart which explains how Juni snagged her prestigious title (IYKYK) and how she came to be Sterlyn’s best friend. This is a short story about forgiveness, growth, and loving the unlovable. I think you’ll enjoy it. Again, I have a plan for this story that I’ll share with you shortly. My Plan to share Juni’s Heart for Free I’ve been wanting to expand Alburnium’s story world for some time now. I’ve tried a couple of platforms, but they didn’t really work for me. Now, I think I’ve found a place where I can put out some fun material and share new, upcoming. stories as I write them! See my notes about Ream below. Future Plans Dreams for This YearI have a big decision to make and you can help me out:
Finally, I Have Two Big Projects I Hope To Have Going By the End of 2024REAM SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM What is Ream? Picture if Wattpad (which I do have a couple of books on there) and Patreon merged. Then you have Ream. It was created by authors for authors and readers. I plan to use it to share Juni’s Heart with you… as I write it! That means, you can follow along on my writing process, share your thoughts and feedback, and learn more about the craziness on how I write books. I think it’ll be fun and I’ll share this book in the Followers tier so it’ll be available for everyone at not cost. I also want to share the changes I’ve made to Phoenix Province. Here’s how that will work. I will put the first two books under a paid tier, the lowest priced tier. If you’ve purchased either book and can prove that to me, I will send you a free month, or two, if you’ve bought both, and you can read the first two books on Ream. It's a lot like reading on Kindle because Ream has an app and I can load whole books. No searching through dozens of post like they do on Patreon to find a chapter. Or trying to keep up with which ones you’ve read and need to read. It's super amazing what they've created over at Ream and it gets better each passing month because it's new and still being built. I will even put up the third book in this tier as I run through the final edits. All this should happen within this quarter, but I'm not making any promises. I'll do the best I can to get these books finished and out to you. DIRECT SALES STORE Finally, by the end of 2024, I will have a Castle Story World Store up and running. All my fantasy books will be listed, first as ebooks, then as print… but not until I can offer special editions of my print books. I will start with the Phoenix books, then the Lionheart books. Next year, I want to revise the White Road Chronicles and I’m thinking of doing a Kickstarter to get those books on audio. All that is scheduled for 2025. My Why Am I Doing All This, Instead of Just Putting Out More Books?Because…
I’m excited about what’s to come. Mostly, about getting a new and improved Phoenix series out very soon. That’s top priority right now. All the other stuff is down lower on the list.
Please share your thoughts in the comments and let me know what stories you’d like to see in the future. I’m busting with ideas, but need help deciding which way to go. Until next time-- Happy Reading and Be Blessed Jackie J. R. Castle
5 Comments
Birgit Lehmann
3/28/2024 11:22:11 am
I would love everything you spoke about. I love your books which means the fantasy series and I look forward to read them.
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Jackie Castle
3/28/2024 02:28:25 pm
Yes, I'll continue to publish on Amazon for as long as I possibly can.
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Jackie Castle
3/30/2024 05:13:04 pm
That's a great idea. I might do that! Thanks
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Author & Artist Jackie Castle
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